PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

So, it’s started.  It’s December 1^st.  Preparations have begun or will soon be getting underway.  Yep.  We’re revving up.  Getting ready for that all important Christmas day, you know the day well.  Every year it rolls around.  It’s the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, you know, Jesus.  Some dread that day and say AAAAHHHH!!!!! Some look forward to that day and say GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!!!!  To be honest, we probably all see-saw a bit when we think about Christmas.  When we think about Christmas we can think rationally and with perspective – it’s the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, Immanuel, God With Us, that’s all that matters.  But, when we think about preparing for Christmas, sometimes we just simply lose our minds.

I’m trying to figure out how to keep my wits about me this Christmas.  You too?  You see, I always start off with the greatest intentions.  I tell myself it’s all about Jesus.  Smile.  It’s all about Jesus.  Smile.  It’s all about Jesus.  Smile.  Keeping up that mantra will work until, oh, I don’t know, December 5,  when I look at the calendar and see that in three short weeks, Christmas will be over and I’m not ready.  Then my mantra changes.  Game on man!  It’s all about Jesus – through gritted teeth – I’ve got to get these decorations up!   It’s all about Jesus – through gritted teeth – one more party to attend!  It’s all about Jesus – through gritted teeth – my shopping isn’t done!  It’s all about Jesus – through gritted teeth – my house needs cleaned.  It’s all about Jesus – through gritted teeth – I’ve got to get this food done!   It’s all about Jesus – through gritted teeth…

Somehow, I’ve lost my way.  I let my guard down.   You see, the words are the same the attitude is different, and, I’m embarrassed to say it’s not at all about Jesus anymore.  You too?   Okay, then.  Let’s figure out a way to make Christmas what it really should be about – Christ the Lord.

O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray to the Lord day and night for the fulfillment of his promises.  Take no rest, all of you who pray.  Give the Lord no rest until he makes Jerusalem the object of praise throughout the earth.  Isaiah 62:6-7

Look at that.  Isaiah says watch and pray.

Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night to protect ourselves.  Nehemiah 4:9

Look at that.  Nehemiah says watch and pray.

I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the Lord will say to me and how he will answer my complaint.  Habakkuk 2:1

Look at that.  Habakkuk says watch and pray.

“Son of  man, I have made you a watch for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.”  Ezekiel 3:17

Look at that.  God told Ezekiel to watch and pray.

Sit ye here, while I shall pray…My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death; tarry ye here, and watch…Simon, sleepest though?  Couldest not though watch one hour?  Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.  The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.    Mark 14:32-34

Look at that.  Jesus told Peter watch and pray.

Be on guard.  Don’t go to sleep.  Be vigilant.  What are we watching for, you say?  Watch for danger.  Watch for temptation.  Watch for the snares, traps.  Those things that make you think you’ve got to have everything perfect, everything done, everything over-the-top, everything just right, every perfect gift, every perfect dinner.  Watch for everything that pulls you away from Christmas.

Okay.  We watch, we guard, but life is a slippery slope.  Sometimes we see the train coming toward us but we just can’t seem to get off the tracks.  What to do?  Check out the verses again.  They don’t say watch and just hang out or watch and let the train run over you.  They say watch and pray!  Communicate with God!  Look what Jesus did in the Garden.  He prayed!  Simon Peter could have used a little more watching and praying that night, couldn’t he?  We are absolutely no different.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.  Proverbs 18:10

We watch and we call on the name of the Lord!

For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.  Psalm 61:3

The Word of God has the answer for us during this Christmas season and every season.   “Watch ye and pray.”  The solution to our craziness, to our Christmas mania.  Watch and pray.   It’s all about Jesus.  Smile.

He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.  (NIV)  Matthew 10:40

I ran across this verse a couple of weeks ago and have been chewing on it ever since.  It’s almost like a tongue twister, isn’t it?  This verse has a propensity for pronouns.  Jesus talk —  He, who, you, Me, he, who, Me, Him, One, Me.  Since Jesus lives in us, anyone who accepts us, accepts Jesus, who then, by relationship, accepts Jesus through the One who sent Him.  Yikes!  It’s like chasing your tail, right?  Reminds me of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon only it’s the Billionth Degree of Jesus.   Those who know Him, are all connected – one body, remember?  That’s how it’s supposed to work.  Anyway.

Receives.  Welcomes.  Accepts.  Takes in.  Gets hold of.  Takes possession of.  Acquires.  Secures.  Jesus is saying to the Disciples, we’re all in this together.  If someone accepts you, they accept Me.  If they accept Me, they accept God My Father.  That clears it all up then.  But, wait.

Receives.  Welcomes.  Accepts.  We understand those words, don’t we?  We’re consumers.  We know how to receive gifts.  We welcome gifts.  We accept gifts.  What do we do with gifts?  We receive them and then open them, right?  We welcome them and then open them, right?  We accept them and then open them, right?  We don’t open them and then accept them, right?  Of course not!  That would be crazy.  That’s out of order.  But that’s exactly what “Christian” is all about.  It’s all about opening first.

Celebrating Christ-mas is about receiving and then opening the gift.  Celebrating Christ-ian is about opening and then receiving the gift.  It’s about opening, letting, allowing, our hearts and minds to receive, to welcome, to accept the gift, the Greatest Gift ever.  Being open to receive is difficult though.

To open.  To give access.  To unlock.  To unseal.  To unshut.  That makes us vulnerable, doesn’t it?  Vulnerable to others.  “He who receives you…”  Vulnerable to Jesus.  “…he who receives me receives the one who sent me.”  As hard as it may be, when we open, we receive, and look what happens:

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace.  Colossians 3:15

When we open, we receive.  Here, Brother Paul is telling the folks of Colosse, be open to receive the peace that comes from Christ.  Peace.  We’re all looking for peace this time of year, aren’t we?  Is it so easy to just open and receive?  It is.  When we open, we receive and look what happens:

For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.  1 Kings 17:16

When we open, we receive.  Elijah and the widow were open to receive God’s provision from a handful of flour and a mite of oil in a jug.  Provision.  We’re all looking for provisions aren’t we?  We’re all looking to be cared for.  Is it so easy to just open and receive?  It is.  When we open, we receive and look what happens:

And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.”  The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he came back to life!  I Kings 17:21-22

When we open, we receive.  Elijah and the widow were open to receive God’s miracle.  Miracles.  We’re all looking for miracles aren’t we?  We’re looking for someone to stretch over us and heal our diseases – mind, body, spirit.  We’re all looking for the impossible to be made possible.  Is it so easy to just open and receive?  It is.  When we open, we receive and look what happens:

They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey…When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet…They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage…The people went away to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.  Nehemiah 1:12

When we open, we receive.  Ezra, Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem were open and received understanding.  We’re all looking for understanding, aren’t we?  Just trying to grasp the meanings.  We’re all looking for answers to the questions of life.  Is it so easy to just open and receive?  It is.  When we open, we receive and look what happens:

“I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!”  Luke 2:10

When we open, we receive.  We, like the Shepherds, open and received life.  We’re all looking for a Savior, aren’t we?  Someone to save us from our sins.  Someone to save us from ourselves.  A Deliverer.  Someone to be Lord of our lives, because we can’t.  Someone to be true to the promises made.  Someone to worship.  Is it so easy to just open and receive?  It is.  When we open, we receive and look what happens.

It’s such an exciting time around our house. – we’re planning for a wedding.  Yep.  Jon and Livi are getting married next October.  This time next year, Jon and Livi will be embarking on their new lives together.  Exciting stuff!

We’re just starting to gear up for that joyous day.  Some would say we’re behind in planning.  They may be right.  Who needs a year to plan a wedding?  We’re slowly finding out — we do.  Weddings take a lot of planning, preparation (and money) – who knew?   To-do lists are being made and better yet, check marks are being made.  The venue has been secured, attendants have been invited, colors have been chosen, engagement pictures have been taken, the DJ has been booked, the feast food selected, caterers consulted, decorations bought (at 80% off, I might add, my grandmother would be so proud).  Piece by piece it’s coming together.  Every week one more step is taken towards the great celebration of a new life together for Jon and Livi.

Another check mark recently made was the selecting of the bride’s clothing, you know, the wedding gown.  Loaded with family, we traveled to a shop where Livi tried on dresses, I guess you can’t really call them dresses, gowns.  I’m not sure the difference except that gown seems to mean a whole lot more fabric and embellishments, cool word.  Anyway, she was looking for the perfect gown.  She was selecting the gown she would wear when her daddy presents her to her groom.

You see it coming, don’t you?  As much as we’re preparing for this big celebration for our family, there’s an even bigger wedding feast, just around the corner.  One much more important than any wedding we could plan, even think, or even imagine.  One with eternal consequences.  This is one wedding you absolutely cannot miss.  The wedding feast of the Lamb.

Hallelujah!  The Master reigns, our God, the Sovereign-Strong!  Let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give him the glory!  The Marriage of the Lamb has come; his Wife has made herself ready.  She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen.  The linen is the righteousness of the saints.  The Angel said to me, “Write this:  ‘Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.”  He added, “These are the true words of God!”  Revelations 19:7-9

Everything all of history has been proclaiming, and what we wait for, the wedding, the union, the joining of the Holy Lamb of God — the Messiah, with His bride, the Church – all faithful believers – us!  What a wedding feast that will be!  The very best part  – you’ve received an invitation – a save-the-date!  Come on guys, put the wedding on your calendar!

However, no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.  Only the father knows.  Matthew 24:36

That’s just it.  We don’t know exactly when it will be.  That’s why we must prepare now.  We must make ourselves ready now.  How?   By accepting what we must have, yet we could not secure for ourselves – righteousness.  Scripture says that the Bride was given a gown of bright and shining linen.  Linen, the righteousness of saints.  Failing to prepare will have catastrophic eternal consequences.

“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.  Many guests were invited, and when the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify everyone that it was time to come.  But they refused!

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But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.  ‘Friend,’ he asked, how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?” And the man had no reply.  Then the king said to his aides, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there I weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.  Matthew 22:2-3, 11-14

God, the King, has prepared a great wedding feast for his son – Blessed are those who are invited!  Many are invited to the great feast, but refuse to come.  Some that do come, refuse to wear the wedding clothes – either because they don’t want to, or think they don’t need to.  The problem is that those clothes represent the gift given by the Groom to the Bride, righteousness, the clothing needed to attend the feast.  To refuse to wear the clothing will have eternal catastrophic consequences.

For God made Christ who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.  2 Corinthians 5:21

Do you follow?  God is preparing a wedding banquet for His Son and the Church – the Groom and the Bride.  Folks are invited.  Some will attend and some will not.  Some who do attend don’t really want to be there and refuse to fully participate – they refuse to put on the clothing provided to them by Christ.  They accept the invitation but they fail to fully participate, an act they later regret.

So, are we prepared?  Have we made ourselves ready?  Are we prepared for the wedding, prepared for the feast, prepared to wear fine linen, prepared as a Bride to be welcomed by her Groom?

In Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling, I came across a sentence that shot me out of my slippers.

Pause briefly from time to time so you can consult with this Holy One inside you.

What a stunning phrase.  It jarred me to my core.  I peel back the layers of meaning in this sentence to see the message.  I can wrap my brain around the “Pause briefly from time to time so you can consult with” part.  Pausing throughout my day to consult with God – prayer.  I can shoot dagger prayers all day, most of the time I don’t even need to pause.  I can do it on the fly.  You too?  Zing.  Zing.  Bullseye.  But, the more I think about it, the more I think maybe I don’t get it.  Pause.  Halt.  Standstill.  Suspend.

Let’s look at the pause.  We’re on our power walk and we have something to consult God about.  Erch!  Dear Lord…  We’re walking down the hall at work, we stop dead in our tracks, utter a few words and then back to the frenzy.  Hmmm?  You know it may not be practical for us to pause on our powerwalk or in the hallway.  But, what about mentally pausing throughout the day?  Stopping all mind traffic for just a moment in time to concentrate on this Holy One?

Where I really got weak knees was the rest of the sentence.  “this Holy One inside you.”  Inside you.  Think about that for a minute.  “…this Holy One inside you.”  Ahhhh!  This makes me pull up.  I repeat this phrase to myself over and over trying to zero in on why it makes me so weak kneed.  Why does this phrase make me uncomfortable?  Why is it troubling to me?  Even though this phrase should be such a comfort – isn’t that what “they” say?  You see, I know that this Holy One is inside of me, but what is so bothersome to me is that I also know what else lives inside of me and it doesn’t square.  This Holy One inside of me is chilling, not because of who He is, but because of who I am.

This Holy One living inside us is none other than God the Father and Jesus the Son.  I got sin and this Holy One is sinless and cannot look on sin.  So, I must continually confess, clean and make room for this Holy One.   Because I am a sinner does not mean that this Holy One does not live in me.  But it does mean that I’m not giving Him all my heart space.  My sin takes up part of that space.  Getting rid of our sin makes more room for Him.  Close your eyes and visualize that.  What takes up more space in our hearts?  Is there room enough for this Holy One or is He crowded out by sin?

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.  You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)   Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.  The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.  And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.  Romans 8:9-11

That word just had to come up, didn’t it?  What we all lack and always want more of…control.  We are all controlled by something.  What controls me?  My sinful nature or the Spirit living in me?  The essence of who I was, or the essence of who He made me.  Hmmm.  I’d like to always say the latter, but that wouldn’t be true.  Sometimes my sinful nature squeezes on the Spirit inside me.  When I’m shooting off my mouth (I’m still working on that talking thing), this Holy One inside me is not evident to myself or others.  I’m not being controlled by the Spirit living inside me.

Live, living, alive.  The key to the verse.  No less than six times are those words mentioned in those verses.  Why is it important?  To live means to dwell, to reside, to abide.  This Holy One inside me.  This Holy One dwelling in me.  This Holy One residing in me.  This Holy One abiding in me.

Folks who have accepted, confessed, and proclaimed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, Christians, are no longer controlled by the sinful nature.  Maybe I should check with this Holy One inside me to be sure He has enough room, that my sin is not taking up His space.

I’m out walking in the dawn’s early light.  Sun peeping.  Silent.  Cool.  Refreshing.  Observing the work of the Master Artist puts a little spring in my step, a lilt in my tilt, a be in my bop.  I walk with the worst-best dog ever, feeling whole.  The sense that all is right with the world is palpable.  I offer praises to my Maker for the glory of the moment.  I smile.  It’s simply a glorious day!

When I start thinking about my day, reality sets in.  The song stops.  The birds stop singing.  The storm clouds roll in.  The mind reels.  I think of the busyness of the day ahead.  I think of the diagnosis of a friend.  I think of the relationship hurts of another.  I think of the addictions of another.  I think of the loss of a loved one of another.  I think…I think…I think…  As I think, I pray.  As I pray, I look beyond to the scape that only minutes ago made me feel on top of the world.  Have you ever experienced that? Mountain to valley in a minute? Rising to submerged in a second?  Underwhelmed to overwhelmed in a heartbeat?  I wonder to myself, how did I get from glorious to downright gloomy in a millisecond?  I simply lost my mind – no kidding, I completely lost perspective and perspective comes from the mind.

I look out across the field and the landscape has totally changed.  So, I continue to walk, my prayers changing from praise to pleading.  Then I hear this still small voice (now you really think I’ve lost my mind) say “Nothing that happens today will change the fact that today is a glorious day.”  I understand.  In my lost mind I go to all the buts and His voice responds.  But…it’s still a glorious day.  But…it doesn’t change that this is a glorious day.  But…it will still be a glorious day.  Over and over again.  No matter what happens today…it doesn’t change the fact that today is a glorious day.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.  Now glory be to God our Father forever and ever.  Amen.  Philippians 4:19-20

Glorious – full of glory – adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving – absolute gratification.

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Sun going down, I was again walking the worst-best dog in the same spot as this morning.  I look across the fields and at the sky.  I observe again the work of the Master artist.  The clouds show the Earth’s rotation.  Thinking back on the things of the day, even the things that made me briefly lose my mind, the hard things, the scary things, I can thank Him for showing me that “It was simply a glorious day.”  Thank you, Lord.

Porch praying the other day, I started thinking about listening and how I’m not very good at it.  You see, I like to talk.  You do too.  I know that because you’re who I talk to!  I always have something to say.  After moving me around the room several times for talking, my seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Watson, told me I was like poison ivy, no matter where she moved me my talking just spread.  Hurtful, but true.

What happens when we talk?  I don’t know about you, but when I talk I can’t listen.  To be honest, rarely when I’m listening am I listening because I’m thinking about the next thing I’m going to talk about.  Sorry.  Talking is good, it’s how we communicate with each other.  But here’s the thing, the majority of the time, talking centers on me.  I have so much to say.  It’s all very good stuff.  I’m so important that people really need to hear what I have to say.  I can talk on top of you, over you, around you, and any which way to Sunday.  As I’m sure you know.   Even in my prayers I tell God I’m going to be silent so that I can hear His Voice.  The next thing I know I’m talking, again.

I struggle in a group of talkers.  Have you ever been in a talker group?   In talker groups the talking starts slowly, building to a dull roar and eventually becomes a shouting match so that  talkers can be heard over other talkers.  Everyone is talking at once, no one is listening, we’re working on formulating our responses – what we’re going to say next.  Interruptions.  Talkovers.  Frenzy.  Chaos.  Fun, right?

You see, my lips move at the speed of life.  Yep.  My life, like yours, is like Superman – faster than a speeding bullet.  I have so much to say because I have so much to do.  It takes words to orchestrate this life!    What’s in my head comes out my lips – most of which just should not.  They say “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.”  This implies that we should talk less than we hear.  I don’t know who the “they” is, but, as a talker, I disagree.  God gave us two ears because there are so many words that come out of the one mouth, it takes two ears to hear them all!  Right?  Wrong.  Look what I found:

For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.  (KJV)

Just as being busy gives you nightmares, being a fool makes you a blabbermouth.  (NLT)

Overwork makes for restless sleep.  Overtalk shows you up as a fool.  (MSG)

Ecclesiastes 5:3

Being too busy keeps us awake at night and talking way too much.  Oh my.

The Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are full of the be quiets.  Why?  Why does the Bible tell us to be quiet, don’t talk?  Because, God speaks.  You know God speaks, right?  If we don’t shut up, we cannot hear Him.  Not listening to my Savior implies I know more than He does and that I don’t really need Him.  Do I think so highly of myself?  Ouch.

Don’t speak impulsively – don’t be in a hurry to give voice to your words before God.  For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; so let your words be few.  Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

There’s a time to just shut up and there’s a time to talk.  Knowing when to talk and when to hold our tongues is a sign of maturity.  How mature are we?  Another ouch.

The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.  Proverbs 10:8

In addition to not hearing God speak, as if that weren’t enough, another reason it’s important to stop talking?  People will not listen if we talk all the time.  If I yammer on all the time, they’ll soon tune me out.  I would.

Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.  Proverbs 18:2

Great.  How does this silent thing work?  How do I shut up, zip my lip, just stop talking?  I must first quiet my heart before I can stop the flow from my lips.

Be silent, and know that I am God!  Psalms 46:10

Enough said.

In gratitude and thanks giving, I honor you, Veteran.  You, the one whose sacrifice brought about my freedom.  You for me.  Your sacrifice of time, family, money, health, desires, sometimes all.

Sacrifice.  Service.  Humility.  The surrender of something for the sake of something more important.  Justice.  Safety.  Freedom.  Life.  You for me.  I am in awe.

Please, don’t let that sacrifice be in vain.  Turn to Jesus.

In gratitude and thanks giving, I honor you, My Lord.  You, the one whose sacrifice brought about my eternal freedom.  You for me.  Your sacrifice of reputation, time, family, money, desires, self, all.

Sacrifice.  Atonement.  Offering.  The Lamb.  Death.  The surrender of something for the sake of something more important.  Forgiveness of Sins.  Life Eternal.  Righteousness.  Justice.  You for me.  I Stand in Awe of You, the Holy Lamb of God.

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Matthew 20:28

Please don’t let that sacrifice be in vain.  Turn to Jesus.

We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins.  And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.  Romans 3:22

Thank you to those who sacrificed, to those who are sacrificing, to those who will sacrifice for all of our freedoms, most importantly, the freedom to Choose Jesus, to Worship God the Father, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Our Redeemer, Our Deliverer.  I Stand in Awe of You.

Thank you Jesus for  your sacrifice, for paying the ransom.  You for me.  I Stand in Awe of You.

Freedom is never free.  It is costly.  Don’t let it be in vain.

I’m trying to figure this sin thing out.  I’ve been thinking about it a lot.  Not the sins of the world, but my sins.  My very own sins.  You know me, I start at the beginning and work my way up to understanding – sometimes, hopefully.

We have to talk about sin, no matter how uncomfortable it is, whether we can admit it or not, we are all sinners.  Not just some of us, not just those over there, not just those who do X, but every last one of us.  You may be thinking you’re not so bad, you are a good person, you do most things right, you feed the hungry, give to the poor, don’t cheat on your taxes, don’t steal post-its from your employer — that’s nice, but you’re a sinner.  Just like me.

What is sin? Listing individual sins does not define what sin is.  Making a list of my own sins, which we have neither enough paper nor time to do so, still does not define sin.   That simply defines the acts of my sin and the consequences of my sin, but not what sin is.  Sin is my separation from God due to my lack of obedience to him.  That’s it.

There’s not a measuring stick for sin.  One is not bigger than another.  One does not outweigh another.  One sin is not worse than another.  Sure, the consequences of different sins are different.  They may or may not be physical consequences of sin – incarceration, pain, injury, even death, etc.  There may be emotional consequences of sin – fear, hated, selfishness, anxiety, addiction, living with hurting another, etc.  But one thing is for certain, there will always be spiritual consequences of sin because sin is ultimately separation from God.   God is holy.  Sin is unholy.   Because sin is unholy it separates us from God.  Separation is separation – forever, for eternity.

Listen!  The Lord is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf.  He can hear you when you call.  But there is a problem – your sins have cut you off from God.  Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.  Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin.  Your mouth is full of lies, and your lips are tainted with corruption.  Isaiah 59:1-3

Wow!  That sin list continues through verse 14.  Isaiah is warning those folks – he just called them out.  Who’s them?  Israel, of course.  Those sinners.  They committed murder.  They lied.  They plotted evil plans.  They cheat.  They cause misery.  They.  They.  They.  But wait, I’ve committed murder in my heart.  I’ve killed someone’s reputation.  I’ve made plans and did things that were far from Godly.  I have cheated.  I have caused misery to others.  I have lied.  I have stolen.  The list goes on and on.  I’m just like Israel.  I’m one of those.  I’m a sinner.  Oh…

The beauty of Isaiah 59 is that it is a warning, a pretty stern warning, but a warning nonetheless.  Let those who have eyes to see…

“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sin.  And this is my covenant to them,” says the Lord.  “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you.  They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever.  I, the Lord, have spoken!”  Isaiah 59:20-21

Praise God! Isaiah’s stern warning is just that, a warning, and not the final outcome.  Our Redeemer has come.  He came to redeem “those in Israel who have turned from their sin.”  I’m one of those – one of them – one of the bought ones!  You are too!!  Isn’t it awesome that he gives us the way out?

If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.  If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.   1 John 1:9-10

Turn from our sin.  Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?  Just stop it, right?  Not so.  But in identifying our sin, admitting our sin, confessing our sin, and taking steps to turn from our sin, we have His covenant, that he will never leave us, he will forgive us, and he will wipe our sins away.

Look!  Here I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.  I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.  Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the spirit and understand what the spirit is saying to the churches.  Revelations 3:20-22

Let all who have ears hear…

Can you see that?  There are seven stars, dim, I know, but if you look very closely you might be able to see what I see in the mornings.  A question mark!  It is the strangest thing.  Do you remember as a kid laying in the grass and watching the clouds, seeing the shapes they’d make?  A funny face, an animal, you know.  Well I do that with the stars.  I don’t lay in the grass at 5:00 a.m. in the morning, but, as I’ve said in the past, I do take note of the stars.

For the past couple of months, those seven stars (I’m sure there are more I just can’t see), have lined up into a question mark.  I first saw them lined up over top of the barn.  Hmmm?  As Shenandoah and I continue to walk west on the road, those stars are now a question mark over the front field.  Stars are funny like that.  I’m a person who thinks everything means something, and so I started thinking about that question mark, and how it seems to be everywhere.  What does that mean?

Life is all about questions, isn’t it?  Asking questions is how we gather information.  How we get the full story.  How we learn.   How we know.  Asking questions is the only class I’m way above average in.  The first six words journalism majors are taught are Who? What? Where? When? Why?  How?  Let’s check this out for a minute:

Who?  It’s so odd.  This morning while looking at the question mark, I heard a barred owl calling in the woods.  Their call sounds like “who calls for you”  to the rhythm of “coo coo ca-choo.”  But, I usually only hear the “who” part.  Who?  Who?  I’m looking at that question mark and I hear Who?  Who?  Hmmm.  Jesus has asked us the same question, you know:

Then he asked them, “Who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered,  “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my father in heaven has revealed this to you.”  Matthew 16:15-16

How do we answer the who?  Who do we say He is?  Do we say Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God?

What?  What was Jesus’ mission?  What was Jesus’ purpose?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”   He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.  Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently.  Then he said, “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!”

Luke 4:18-21

Have we answered the what?  Have we heard the Good News?  We are the poor, you know.  The poor in spirit.  We are the captives, the downtrodden and the oppressed, you know.  Captivated, downtrodden and oppressed to and by our sin.  But wait!  The Good News in the synagogue is the same Good news we’ve heard today — the time of the Lord’s favor has come!

Where?  Where is God?  Where does He live?  Where do I find Him?  Is He really there?

I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit – not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength – that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in.  Ephesians 3:17

Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith.  Don’t drift along taking everything for granted.  Give yourselves regular checkups.  You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you.  Test it out.  2 Corinthians 13:5

Do you know the answer to the where?  Is God living in you?  Do you see how easy He makes it for us?  He will live in us, if we only ask.  Experiencing the life of the His Spirit within us as a  guide, teacher, intervenor, will change our life.  If our lives aren’t changed, Paul says we have failed the test.

When?  When did God come?  When does God appear?

And that’s the way it was before Christ came.  We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world.  But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us, who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.  Galatians 4:3-7

Do you see the when?  In the fullness of time.  In the nick of time.  In His time.  We forget that God has a plan and His timing is always perfect.  In our impatience, fear, anxiety, we want God at our beck and call.  We demand.  God always answers.  God shows up.  His plan has no many moving parts, that sometimes something must happen before something else happens.  Trust His timing.  After all, He is God.

Why?  Why did Jesus come? Why does He pursue me?  Why me, Lord?  Why trust Jesus?

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  John 3:16-17

So many why’s.  The answer to all of them is Love.  He has loved us with an everlasting love.  A love with such outrageous dimension.  A love we can’t fathom, can’t comprehend.  No greater love exists beyond Him.

How?  How did God show His love for us?  How did God redeem us?  How were we saved?

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment.  For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.  Romans 5:8

How…death on a cross….love, written in red.

So, now that you have the whole story, the full story.  Now that it has been fully investigated and all the questions have answers, you have decisions to make.  How will you answer the questions?